Calm Before the Storm
by Artisall
Summary: AU: The Liars are in for a surprise when they discover Ali isn't dead, and she had much bigger secrets than anyone could have imagined. What if there was a supernatural event in Rosewood? Would the Liars finally have an advantage over A if you had suddenly become more 'powerful? Centers around the Liars with heavy emphasis on Paily
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first Paily fic, so be nice. This is AU, and Alison is alive. This story contains Paranormal/supernatural stuff. I always wanted the girls from PLL to have super powers... didn't you? Sorry for any grammar errors, its late here. Please let me know if you guys like this enough for me to continue!**

**I don't own Pretty Little Liars or the characters :)**

The clouds began to gather outside of Rosewood high. School was just letting out and students rushed to their cars to avoid the rain. Football players made their way onto the field, Cheerleaders moved their practice inside, drama students clambered into the auditorium, the AV kids locked themselves in the dark rooms and the students with detention filed into Mr. Fitz's classroom.

Aria slid into a desk, furthest away from her teacher. They hadn't talked much since their 'incident' at the Hollis bar, which was probably for the best at the moment. Aria was slightly shocked when she saw Spencer, Emily and Hanna all file into the room taking the seats next to her.

"Why are you guys here?" Spencer tossed her bag down and answered her friend.

"Sneaking into the guy's locker room." Emily let out a laugh.

"Why on earth were you in there?" Spencer shook her head.

"I got a weird A text that something was hidden in Noel Kahn's locker. Coach Roberts caught me before I could even break into it." It was Hanna's turn to speak up.

"I got a weird text from A too… in fact, I'm in here because I got caught looking in the principal's office without permission…." Emily was beginning to put two and two together.

"Let me guess Aria, you're in here because of something A told you to do as well?" She nodded. "Me too, which means that A wanted us in here for a reason." This whole A situation was beginning to piss Emily off.

"So why are there other students in here? And what can A do with Mr. Fitz sitting up front?" The girls glanced around the room. They could be sitting right next to A and have no idea. Emily glanced up when she heard the door close. Paige McCullers, another swimmer, had walked through the door right before Mr. Fitz had shut it. 'Great, stuck in a room with someone who hates me.' Emily thought as she shifted her attention back to her friends.

"Maybe A just wanted us out of the way…" Aria could be right, maybe A wasn't in here but he or she needed the girls out of the way.

"Sorry Mr. Fitz, I was reapply eyeliner and didn't hear the bell." Mona walked up to his desk and flashed him a smile.

"Not a problem Ms. Vanderwall, just have a seat and be sure your cell phone is off."

Mona spotted Hanna and waved excitedly, picking a desk next to her best friend.

"Hey Mona, what are you in for?" Mona smiled and pulled out her compact.

"Got caught skipping gym for the fourth time in two weeks. So lame."

Emily had tuned out the conversation when Mona arrived. She glanced over at Paige who was engrossed in a paperback book. She wondered what the redhead had done to get detention. Paige had always been a perfect student, much like Spencer. She wondered if Paige's homophobic comments to her were the reason her teammate was here. If that was the case, Paige was probably extra pissed at her. Emily shifted back in her seat and attempted to pay attention to what her friends were saying. They couldn't talk about A with Mona around, so the conversation she was having with Hanna about shoes didn't really interest Emily.

She glanced around the room surveying the students stuck with her for the next 2 hours. It was quite the rag tag bunch of student, but she supposed it was detention so that made sense. A few boys and girls Emily recognized by face only, but she could put names to a couple of the occupants. Toby Cavenaugh sat brooding in the corner as always. Whenever they had an issue with A he seemed to turn up, it was quite unusual. Two seats over from him sat Lucas, a new friend of Hanna's and someone Ali spent countless hours tormenting like most kids in the school. There was one more guy she recognized, 'I think his name is Caleb' she thought. He was a new transfer student, but she sort of remembered seeing him in Calculus that morning.

Emily was quickly brought out of her train of thought by spencer poking her with a pencil.

"Earth to Emily. Jeez you spaced out. I asked you if the gay stuff with Paige was sorted out?"

"There was never gay stuff with Paige!" She looked like a deer caught a pair of headlights.

"Yes there was, she made those homophobic comments about you." Aria piped up.

"Oh… yeah. It's fine, Coach pulled us both aside, I wonder if that's why Paige is in here…" Spencer glared at the other girl, she was super protective over her friends. It was bad enough A was messing with them.

"She may be some swim team star, but she's bad news." Emily shook her head. She had firsthand experience of Paige's less than pleasant side, but there was still something about the other girl that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

Paige felt the group of girls staring at her, Alison's group. She hadn't meant to anger Emily. Paige had always been a rather awkward person, never really able to maintain friendships or any kind of relationship for that matter. She sort of liked it that way, being a loner meant that no one had any expectations of her. She wondered what the four little perfect girls had done to get sent to detention. She felt the urge to speak to Emily, maybe attempt a casual conversation. However, she knew after the way she had acted, Emily would probably never speak to her unless she was forced to. Paige caught Emily's eye for a split second, but she instantly returned her gaze to the paperback she was pretending to be interested in. Emily made her nervous, and Paige hated feeling nervous.

The storm began to rage outside, spreading leaves all over the courtyard out the window. Thunder soon followed the lighting and most of the people in detention wondered if the school would really keep them from going home in weather like this. There was a knock on the door and the Assistant Principle entered, walking straight over to Ezra. He whispered in the teacher's ear then exited the room as quickly as he had left.

"Alright, Mr. Craig has just informed me that there is a weather advisory warning in effect for this county. Your parents have been notified, but we have to move to the locker rooms." The students gathered their belongings and followed Mr. Fitz out of the room.

"You don't think A can control the weather right? Like they are sending us to a dark room with no windows to murder us?" Hanna gripped her bag tightly as thunder practically shook the entire building.

"Right, one person is going to kills all of us." Spencer laughed at Hanna and continued to follow the group.

"Sorry." Emily hadn't been watching were she was going when she bumped into Paige.

"No problem." Paige attempted to offer Emily a smile. She wasn't sure why she was now all of a sudden being polite. Emily, however, welcomed the kind smile and returned one of her own.

As the students were shuffling into the locker room, the electricity went out. Hanna screamed and before anyone else could react the emergency lights kicked on, illuminating the room. The group looked at Hanna.

"Sorry, I was startled."

"Alright, just sit tight and you'll spend the rest of your detention here until your parents arrive or the hour is over." Mr. Fitz sat down on a bench near the door and opened a book.

"Is there a reason we can't leave now and reschedule?" Lucas normally didn't speak up, but he looked more worried than usual.

"Sorry, my hands are tied, Principle's orders." The students formed little groups or went off on their own to wait out the storm or detention… whichever ended first.

There was fifteen minutes left in detention when a loud crack of lighting was heard. It sounds so clear, the students could've sworn It hit the room they were sitting in. The Emergency lights flickered and Mr. Fitz stood up from his bench, prepared for anything. However, no amount of training could actually prepare him for what he saw next.

"Hello girls, miss me?" All four women the stranger was referring to screamed, clasping their hands over their mouths. Emily was the first to speak.

"Ali?" Alison smiled and moved towards her former group of friends.

"Um… What the fuck." Toby stood up and moved towards the young blonde woman.

"Sit!" She yelled in his direction and without knowing why, his knee bent and he was forced to sit on the nearest surface.

"Don't interrupt, it's not polite. Now I asked you a question…"

She turned towards the group that was now huddled against the nearby lockers.

"You don't get to answer Em, since we all know how you feel." Emily shuttered at Ali using her pet name. This couldn't be happening. Aria was the first to speak, her voice noticeably shaking.

"Ali….b..b…but you were dead…" Ali knelt down in front of the girls and lifted her hand up near Aria's face, playing with a strand of her dark hair.

"No more pink streaks, I like it." She looked at Spencer next. "Did you see my body with your own two eyes?" Spencer shook her head slowly. "Spencer you were always good at math… put two and two together." She moved over to Hanna next. "Has Mona done a good job replacing me Hanna darling? Next time, steal cuter shoes." She poked at Hanna's boots and stood up.

"Well this is a lovely reunion. Everyone seems speechless. What about you Shim?" She glance at Lucas sitting on the floor across from her. "I'm sure you missed me the most."

"Fuck o-"

"Stop talking. I didn't say you could talk." Before Lucas could argue his mouth was shut tight. He looked as if he wanted to continue to speak, but had lost the motor functions to do so. Alison laughed.

"Let's play a little game. Mona, I'd like you to help please." Mona stood up immediately, as if she was eager to play. Alison reached into her purse and pulled out a large bottle filled with a bright blue liquid. She turned towards Mona and presented her with the bottle.

"Mona, if you would be so kind and pass this bottle around, make sure everyone takes a sip." Caleb didn't know who this random girl was or why she was able to make all the decisions, but he wasn't having this.

"Mom said not to take candy from strangers." He grabbed his messenger bag and began to exit the locker room.

"Freeze emo boy." Caleb immediately stopped walking, as if his feet were cemented to the ground. "Turn around and come sit back down." His body turned, with what seemed like a slight resistance. He moved back to where he was seated previously. "Perfect, and remember no talking. Now where were we? Oh yes, the drinking." Mona slowly began to move around the room, starting with Paige. "Drink up my lovelies, I assure you, it won't hurt… too much." Even if the girls wanted to resist, they couldn't. There was this unseen force making them put the bottle to their lips and to drink from it. One by one everyone in the room consumed the blue liquid, no longer voicing any complaints.

Alison smiled when the bottle was returned to her.

"Perfect. Sweet dreams my little ones." Each person in the room fell asleep instantly, aside from Mona and Alison. They exchanged smiled and exited the room as the storm raged on outside.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the people following me! I hope you like this story so far! I promise there will be much more Paily, I just need to set up the story a little bit since it's this crazy supernatural world. Let me know what you guys think! **

**I don't own anything from Pretty Little Liars :) **

Chapter 2-

"I think they're over here." A loud ringing noise filled Emily's ears. She tried to sit up but felt a heavy weight across her chest. When her eyes focused on the surroundings she saw the rubble covering the floor all around her. There was a locker pinning her in place.

"Help…" She coughed out, her lungs filled with dust. "We're over here!" She could barely breathe. She heard a man calling out to her. Emily looked around as much as she could and saw Spencer leaning up against the lockers, bleeding from a wound to her head, still unconscious.

"Here! I see them!" There were several voices echoing in Emily's head. She tried to squeeze out from under the lockers. She needed to see if her friends were okay.

"Ma'am don't move." A firefighter had appeared and two more of them attempted to hoist the locker off her body. Once she was free she attempted to get up but fell over, still feeling very woozy.

"It's okay, come with us." One of the firefighters let Emily lean on her shoulder.

"What about my friends…?"

"Emily! Hanna broke free from her firefighter and ran over to her best friend.

"Hanna! What happened?" Hanna put her arm around Emily, helping to hold her up.

"I don't remember, we were down in the locker rooms and then the storm hit." Hanna had scratches all over her arms and a large gash on her cheek, but other than that she seemed okay. After knowing Hanna was safe, Emily looked around for Aria and Spencer. She saw them leaning on one another, Aria favoring what looked to be a broken right arm. Spencer had a huge gash that came down from her hair line to her left eyebrow. The paramedics had rushed over to take a look at all the girls while the firefighters pulled the rest of the students and Mr. Fitz from the rubble.

The whole scene was chaotic. Flashing lights and half of Rosewood gathered around the school courtyard. Emily scanned the crowd looking for Paige, since she hadn't seen her as she was being saved from the debris. She spotted the other swimmer being hugged by her mother next to one of the fire trucks. She had blood on her clothes, but seemed to be walking fine. Emily watched as Paige's dad ushered her quickly into the car. Emily hoped that she would at least be going to the hospital to get her injuries looked at.

_Next morning:_

Emily had the worst night's sleep she'd had since Alison went missing. She tossed and turned, feeling each bruise the locker had left on her. Finally, around five am, she fell into a deeper sleep; however, she was still haunted by Alison long after her eyes closed. The bright sunlight poured in through her window, slowly forcing her to wake up. She had expected to feel worse this morning from soreness; however, it felt just like any morning when she had not slept well. She stood up and padded over to her mirror. When she got home the night before, she hadn't even attempted to assess the damage. She lifted her shirt expecting to see all the bruise and cuts from the accident. Yet, when she ran her hand over her bare stomach there was no pain. She rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Her stomach looked like it hadn't been touched. She frantically searched her entire body for any sign of proof that last night had happened, but there was nothing. It wasn't a dream was it? It seemed so real! Her phone rang out loud causing her to jump. She saw Spencer's name on the caller ID.

"Spencer, hey you won't believe…" But Spencer cut her off.

"You're completely healed."

"I… yeah you too?! So last night did happen?" There was a pause on the other side of the phone.

"Yes… I doubt it's possible for us to all have the same dream…"

"Spencer, what is going on?" Spencer sighed.

"I have no idea… hold on Aria's calling, I'll put us on a conference call. "

"Hello?!"

"Aria, its Spencer and Emily… We know… no injuries right?"

"Spencer…. My arm was broken last night, fucking broken and now it just feels slightly sore!"

"Great… Hanna is calling me now… I'll patch her in."

"Hey Hanna, it's all three of us. We know."

"I was so terrified I was going to have a scar on my face for the rest of my life! What is going on?"

"We have no idea. We should meet up, school is closed today. My mom told me that some of the students didn't survive the accident." Spencer said that last part quietly.

"Let's meet up at the Grille in twenty minutes. I don't care if I have to throw my parents out of my way, we all need to talk about what happened."

"We will Aria. See you guys in twenty."

Emily hung up the phone and stepped back in front of the mirror. She examined her body again but could see no signs of last night's accident. Something wasn't right. She got dressed quickly and headed out the door, barely giving her mom the chance to argue.

The four girls sat at a table in complete silence, no one really knowing what to say. Aria finally spoke up.

"I dreamt about Ali all last night. I could hardly sleep, but when I did, she was there like some horrible nightmare." Emily looked at Aria slightly shocked.

"I dreamt about her too and it definitely wasn't pleasant…"_ 'Not like it usually was…'_ she thought to herself.

"What Em?" Emily looked up at Aria confused.

"Nothing I just said I dreamt of Ali." Aria looked at her with concern.

"But they you said 'not like it usually was'. What did you mean by that?" Emily almost dropped her coffee mug._ 'Did I say that out loud?'_ she thought. She was so sure she'd kept the last part to herself.

"You said it out loud alright." Spencer looked at Aria as if she had something on her face.

"What?" Aria was confused as to why the attention was focused on her.

"What are you talking about Aria, all she said was that she had a dream too."_ 'Maybe she hit her head last night.'_ Spencer thought.

"Spencer! I did not hit my head, I'm fine! You guys are the ones who sound crazy." Spencer, Hanna and Emily looked back and forth at each other. Then Emily had a weird idea._ 'Aria, can you hear what I'm saying, look at me. Notice anything odd.'_ Emily tried to think these lines over and over in her head.

"What the fuck. Your…. Your lips aren't moving…" She pushed herself away from the table, a terrified look on her face. Hanna and Spencer looked confused as they watched the two girls engage in a silent conversation.

_'You're reading my mind.'_

"Stop! Please stop you're freaking me out." Spencer laughed.

"We're freaking **you** out? What's going on?"

"Aria was reading my thoughts." Hanna almost spit out her tea.

"She's what? That's impossible Em." Emily raised her eyebrow at Hanna.

"Try it… focus on something, think about it." Hanna looked around the room than back at Aria._ 'hello…'_

"Hello! That was the best you could come up with!?" Hanna jumped slightly at Aria's tone.

"Sorry, I'm not use to talking to people in my head!"

"Calm down… okay Aria, pay attention to me."_ 'You're a bitch and you shouldn't be sleeping with Ezra'_

"I'm not a bitch and Ezra and I haven't had sex yet!" Spencer looked at Aria in disbelief.

"This isn't possible." Emily shook her head.

"Mind reading is something Lucas talks about in his comic books, not something that happens in real life." Hanna took a large gulp of her coffee.

"Hanna, you think Lucas is cute?" Hanna looked around at her friends at the table.

"Okay! I get it, you know what I'm thinking, but I'd appreciate if you'd keep it to yourself."

"Aria, have you always had this ability? When did you realize you could do this?" Spencer turned to the girl sitting next to her, putting on her best detective face.

"Spencer, this isn't an interrogation. I have no idea what's going on. We all went to be last night injured and woke up good as new! What about that little issue?"

"I don't even remember what happened last night after we got into the locker rooms." Emily stared at her coffee trying to remember what happened before the accident.

"Emily, was Paige hurt last night?" The mention of Paige's name perked Emily's interests.

"Yeah, she looked pretty beaten from what I can tell. Why?"

"Well she looks fine now, just like we all do." Spencer motioned to the counter where Paige was talking to the cashier. Hanna spoke up.

"We should ask her how she's feeling, maybe she thought it was weird to wake up without injuries this morning too." Emily saw Paige walking towards them and decided to speak up, even if Paige may still be mad at her.

"Hey Paige."

The redhead turned around at the sound of her name. She knew that Emily and her friends were here, she just didn't expect them to want to talk to her, but maybe they too had questions about last night.

"Hey Emily." She walked over to the table, takeout bag in hand. "Hey guys." They all said hi to Paige, but she could only really focus on Emily.

"Um, this may sound really strange, but you were hurt last night in the accident right?" Paige looked slightly panicked, but with Emily's deep brown eyes staring up at her, she had to tell the truth.

"Yeah… I'm guessing I'm not the only one who woke up perfectly fine this morning?" She looked around at the table, all the girls nodded slowly.

"We're trying to remember what happened last night after Ez… Mr. Fitz led us down into the locker room." Paige smiled at Aria's slip of tongue. It was pretty apparent at the glances they were giving each other during detention that Aria wasn't just upset about a paper grade.

"Do you remember anything? What happened before the lighting struck or what we did once we got into the locker room? Why are we not still injured?" Paige looked at Spencer with wide eyes.

"Slow down Spencer. You can sit if you want." Emily looked up at her smiling.

"I have a minute." She pulled a chair out at the head of the table, smiling at Emily, hoping the girl had forgiven her previous transgressions. "I'm not sure what's going on. I just woke up this morning feeling like last night never happened."

"Aria feels especially weird."

"Hanna!"

"What?! Maybe she feels weird too!" Aria shook her head at the blonde girl across from her.

"Funny how?" Aria tried to focus on Paige, however her mind drew a blank.

"Go on Aria, show her."

"I'm trying…"

"What's going on guys?" Paige was slightly confused at the girl's behaviors.

"I can't."

"Can't what?"_ 'Can't read my mind?'_ Paige directed her thought to the other woman and Aria nearly jumped out of her chair._ 'Calm down and don't freak out.'_ Spencer looked at Paige then back at Aria.

"What's going on!"

"Ummm yeah. Paige knows."

"What?! How, we didn't hear you say anything?" Hanna stared down the redhead like she was from another planet.

"It's complicated. Have you guys felt weird at all since last night?"

"You mean besides the fact that there isn't a scratch on us, no." Spencer was still checking her body for marks, not believing that they could simply vanish. Emily looked at Paige, confused as to why she wasn't running in the opposite direction from her and her friends.

"Nothing weird, why should there be something?" Paige studied Hanna closely. She looked down at the table then back up to Hanna.

"Maybe." She picked up Emily's water glass. "Only one way to find out." She tilted the glass and pushed it in Hanna's direction causing the remainder to the water to splash out at the other girl. Hanna started to scream and tried to shield herself, preparing to be drenched.

"Oh my god…. Hanna…." Spencer covered her mouth with her hands.

"What!" Hanna opened her eyes and noticed that she wasn't covered in water. Instead the water was floating just above the table, inches from her body. She screamed for the second time and the water crashed down onto the table.

"That explains a lot." All four girls look at Paige.

"Paige what do you know?" Emily looked at her, slightly scared to hear Paige's answer.

"We need to go somewhere else and have this conversation. Unless you want everyone to hear Hanna scream for a third time?" All of the girls looked at each other then back to Paige.

"Okay…" Emily said and Paige placed a reassuring hand on Emily's forearm.

"Trust me, Emily. It's okay." The brunette nodded, feeling an odd warmth where Paige's hand was resting on her arm. Paige must've noticed it to, because she instantly removed her hand and stood up from her chair.

"Come on, we can't waste any time or draw more attention." The girls nodded silently, left money on the table and hurried out of the Grille hoping to find the answer to at least some of their questions.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and the follows! I hope you guys are liking the story. Next chapter is going to be a ton of Paily, have no fear ;) I'm writing this late, so if there are errors, I apologize! Again, I don't own anything from the Pretty Little Liars! But if I did I'd know who A was! Please let me know what you guys think and if you have any suggestions! **

Chapter 3-

The girls had decided to head to Emily's house, since her mom was at work. Paige sat down on Emily's window seat and felt the girls stare at her expectantly.

"Before I say anything, there are some things I need to figure out about you guys. Information for Information, deal?" The girls looked at each other, agreeing silently.

"So, Aria can read minds, and it appears Hanna have what is called matter manipulation."

"What does that even mean." the blonde girl looked at her quizzically, Paige simply smiled and walked over to Emily's desk. She picked up the thick Webster dictionary and handed it to Hanna.

"Try to bend this, but instead of using your physical strength, think really hard about bending it." Hanna looked completely confused. She glanced down at the dictionary.

"Is this like the Jedi force Lucas was trying to explain to me?" Paige laughed.

"Not quite. Just focus." The girls all stared at Hanna intently. She focused as hard as she could and slowly the cover began to warp. She squealed with excitement as the cover and it's pages looked as if they were turning into gel.

"Okay, don't want to create a mess." Paige took the now warped book out of Hanna's hand.

"Okay, you asked and we answered. It's your turn now." Spencer leaned on Emily's bed frame staring at Paige. The redhead pulled out Emily's desk chair and sat down, casually moving the hair out of her face.

"What do you want to know specifically?"

"What is happening to Aria and Hanna, this isn't a normal illness?" Paige smiled.

"It's not just Aria and Hanna. It's everyone who drank the liquid." The girls looked at each other in disbelief. They had no idea what Paige was talking about.

"What liquid? We don't remember anything after getting to the locker room." Emily searched Paige's eyes for answers, but she couldn't read the other woman.

"You don't remember Alison showing up?" The girls froze at the mention of her name. They all tried to search their memories for the event Paige was talking about. "I'll take those looks to mean no. It will come back to you eventually. Spencer, come here." Spencer looked at Paige, confused. "It's okay, I don't bite." The brunette stood up and crossed the room, meeting Paige in the middle. "Give me your hand." Spencer nervously presented Paige her hand. The other woman placed her hand ceremoniously over the top of it.

"What are you doing?"

"Hold still, just testing."

"How is it that you just know what's happening?" Paige looked at spencer, never letting go of her hand.

"I'll explain later. Aren't you curious what you can do?" Spencer nodded shyly and waiting. Paige removed her hand. "Do you feel anything?" Spencer looked around the room and shook her head. Paige walked around her, as if inspecting a scientific specimen. "Jump up and touch the ceiling."

"I can't, it's like five feet taller than me."

"Just try please, and when you jump really imagine that you can touch it." Spencer jumped but came nowhere near reaching the ceiling. Paige motioned for her to try again and still nothing happened.

"Humm…" Paige paused examining her again. "Oh… right." She looked over at Emily making eye contact with her, almost as if apologizing for doing something. Before Emily could interpret the glance Paige had turned away and was walking towards Spencer. "Don't think too much of this, okay…" Spencer didn't even have time to respond before Paige's lips were on her own. The minute their lips made contact, Paige crippled over in pain. Spencer immediately pushed her away, confused as to what was going on. Emily leaped from the bed and ran to Paige's side.

"What was that for? I thought you hated gay people." Paige looked up at Emily with those apologetic eyes again. Aria piped up before anyone else could speak.

"Don't worry Paige, she forgives you." Emily shot Aria an angry glare. "What, you weren't going to say it." Paige shifted on the floor and looked back at Spencer.

"Jump now." Spencer looked around the room and sighed. She jumped, however this time her hand ran straight into the ceiling.

"What the FUCK is going on!" Spencer looked down and could see her feet dangling in midair.

"I can fly?!" Paige laughed.

"Not quite…"

"Get me down Paige or I swear…."

"Just think about being on the ground." Hanna was couldn't hold it in any longer. Helpless Spencer was just too entertaining. She burst into laughter.

"It's not funny Hanna!" In her rage Spencer managed to propel herself at the blonde sitting on the bed. She slammed into the girl with so much force, Hanna flew off the bed and into the dresser. A normal person would've broken something hitting a solid object with so much speed, but Hanna's panicked reaction to a flying Spencer had basically turned the dresser into a foam cushion. The girls ran over to see if Hanna was okay, and when the blonde started laughing they realized she was fine.

"At least that put you back on two feet." Hanna let out another giggle and removed herself from the dresser, leaving a Hanna shaped imprint in the drawers.

"So I can fly."

"No. I can. You have what's called Power mimicry. Normally you could mimic people's powers after touching them, but for some reason you have to kiss them." Spencer's jaw dropped slightly.

"Wait what? You're saying that I can take other people's powers if I kiss them! That's ridiculous."

"Face it Spence, this whole thing is pretty ridiculous, but you can't deny what you can see with your own eyes. That's science or something." Hanna sat back down on the bed.

"What about me… What can I do?" Paige turned towards Emily and smiled at her. 'Steal my heart'. Aria let out a gasp. 'Oops. Didn't mean for you to hear that.' Aria's eyes met Paige's. 'Don't tell. Not yet.' Aria nodded and the other women looked confused.

"Talking in your minds isn't fair to the rest of us." Spencer folded her arms looking sternly at both women.

"Sorry. Let's see." Paige offered Emily a hand up. Emily placed her hand in Paige's and when Paige slightly tugged her up she was amazed at how strong the other girl felt. It was as if she had practically lifted her off the ground with one hand.

"You'll like this one." Paige winked at Emily, and the brunette felt her cheeks grow red. "We need more space to test it out. Let's head into your backyard."

"Wait, couldn't people see us?"

"They won't see Emily, don't worry."

"Aww She can be invisible! That's not fair." Hanna pouted as the girls walked down the stairs and out Emily's backdoor.

"Not quite." Paige stood to face Emily. "Alright, if you can beat me in a race to that tree," She pointed to a large Oak across the yard. "Then I will fill you guys in on what happened that night."

"I think I know what my power is then…" She flashed a beautiful smile at Paige and turned to look at the tree.

"Ready. Set. Go." They began to sprint towards the tree. Emily had figured out that maybe speed was her power, but she had no idea that she'd move so fast she'd practically teleport. It was almost as if she blinked once and was touching the tree. She didn't even have to catch her breath.

"Holy Shit." She looked at Paige as the girl walked up beside her.

"Quite the rush isn't it?" Paige smiled at Emily, both girls quickly looking away as the blush rose up on their cheeks.

"Yeah, guess we won't have to fight over anchor anymore…" They laughed as Hanna ran up to them.

"That was incredible Em! I didn't even see you run!" Spencer and Aria came up behind them, Spencer less excited about their new found powers than the others.

"So what's the catch? Anything this good has to have a catch." Paige leaned casually against the tree. "More importantly, how do you know everything?" Spencer was getting angered. Paige sighed and pushed off from the tree. "Stay right here, I'll be back in five minutes."

"Wait where are you…" Before Spencer could finish her sentence Paige had lifted herself high into the air and flown out of sight.

"Wow…" 'She's amazing…' Emily couldn't help but watch as Paige magically disappeared. All of this was happening so fast, but she felt comforted know that at least someone had answers for them.

"She is quite amazing, Em." Emily gave Aria an angry stare.

"Sorry… I haven't quite gotten the hang of this yet." Aria shrugged.

"I hope she comes back, I have so many questions." Hanna looked like a kid at candy store wit the widest smile on her face. "When do you not have questions Spencer?"

"Guys, we thought the A thing was crazy… this takes the cake." They made their way over to a patio set in Emily's yard.

"Do you think what she said about Ali being back is true? And that we saw her last night?"

"It may explain the weird dreams about her we all had. At this point, I'm willing to believe anything." They heard a noise in the yard and turned to see Paige landing gracefully on her feet. She had changed clothes as well, out of her casual athletic attire into a pair of grey skinny jeans, tall laced up boots, and a white t-shirt and vest on the top. She had her long hair pulled back but a few stands fell out, framing her face. 'How did I not notice her before, she's… wow.' Emily's eyes were completely fixed on Paige as she made her way over the girls carrying what looked like a prop book from a movie. Aria nudged Emily out of her daydream, having heard it all in her head.

"What's that?" Paige placed the heavy tome on the table with ease.

"This is how I know what I do." She looked around at the group. "It was delivered to my doorstep weeks ago…. with a small bottle that read drink me. Straight out of a Wonderland. I read the entire tome before I decided to drink the bottle. What did I have to lose?" She looked at Emily when she said those last words, a small bit of hurt in her eyes. "This book explains most of what is happening. There are pages torn out, so not everything is known. " Spencer immediately grabbed the book and opened its cover.

The pages were filled with script that looked thousands of years old, but that was impossible. It was in English.

"What's it say?" Hanna peered over Spencer's shoulder.

"Herein lies the tale shrouded in secrecy, filled with woe. A story of two young women and heirs to a kingdom…" Spencer looked up at Paige. "This is just a fairytale. How is this going to tell us anything?" Paige smiled slyly at Paige.

"You of all people should know that most stories, even fairytales, sometimes tell of true events. The authors just tend to embellish a bit." Spencer shook her head.

"I still don't get what this has to do with us."

"If you're so impatient, flip to page 134." Spencer looked back at the tome and began flipping it's old pages. If this was a prop it was a fantastic one. She began to read out loud again.

"He created the nine Sleeping Souls, each possessing their own unique powers. The Mindful one hears all, yet never speaks. The Unmovable stands strong against all odds. The Seer knows its path before it treads. The charger lights up all it touches. The Wise one needs only its knowledge for company. The seductress uses its touch to shift the tides. The bender manipulates to suit its needs. The changeling adapts to its surrounds. And last is the Fleeting one continually running towards and away from its paths. The prophecy demanded that these souls be scattered upon the wind, lest they stir the chaos within. The King being wise and fearing turmoil banished the souls to forever wander, never knowing their true origin…." Spencer looked up at Paige who was smiling. She glanced back the book then up at the girls surrounding her.

"You think we're part of this Nine Sleeping Souls group?" Paige sat in one of the empty chairs.

"Well Ms. Hastings, do you have a better explanation to everything that is happening?"

"Wait so that would make me the… the what… bender I guess?" Hanna smiled, slightly amused at possibly being a character in one of those stories Lucas was always going on about. She picked up the potted plant that sat on the table and began to cause the ceramic to melt.

"Hanna, stop destroying everything at my house." Emily took the now deformed pot away from the blonde and set it on the deck.

"This is a huge tome, what does the rest say?"

"Yeah could you give us a summary?" Paige shifted in her seat.

"Would you believe me if I just told you?" She already knew Spencer's answer.

"So how did you learn to do all this? Is it in here?" Aria slid the tome over to her and flipped to a random section.

"Yes. This book was given to me about a month ago. I don't understand it all yet, but I'm starting to." Emily looked at Paige, still in awe that she was understand anything about what was happening.

"So what now?"

"Now you practice like I did. I assume you'll want to keep the book, Spencer?" She nodded intently and stole the book back from Aria.

"I know you guys haven't always liked me and I completely understand why." She looked at Emily and gave her a small reassuring smile. "But this is something I can help you with, if you'll let me. I'll be at my house all night if anyone wants to meet up with me. I should probably go and let you all talk. It's a lot of information to take in." Paige stood up and the girls watched her turn to leave.

"Paige. Thanks…. For the help." She never expected Spencer Hastings to thank her, but she was happy about it.

"No problem, we're sort of all in this together. Emily has my number." She bent down slightly and pushed off from the ground. She was gone before the girls could even blink.

"It'd be really helpful if your dirty thoughts weren't so loud Emily." Aria smiled at the brunette. She threw a pillow from her chair at the other girl.

"I'll go make coffee, I think we'll be here a while." The girls nodded and Emily disappeared into her house. She wasn't sure what was going on, but she was glad Paige was there to help them through it.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks so much for following this story and reviewing! Apologizing ahead of time for any grammar errors etc. Paily fluff ahead!**

**Indre: Aww I'm glad you liked it. I always thought Spencer could bring people to her knees with a kiss! If you liked Aria's mind reading with Paily, wait until you read this chapter XD**

**Siretha: Aww you're too kind! I hope you like this chapter as well, it is curious why Paige knows so much... ;) **

**Again I don't own anything relating to Pretty Little Liars, thats all ABCFamily!**

Chapter 4

Hanna paced back and forth behind Spencer. She was always the kind of girl who just read the last page of a book to figure out the ending. However, Spencer, who was buried neck deep in the tome, liked to read each world carefully. Aria was actually beginning to like her new found power since she could simply listen to what Spencer was thinking without having to ask 'What does it say?' a million times.

Emily was busy making a second pot of coffee, since Spencer was treating it like water. The girls were still undecided about taking Paige up on her offer of training. All the girls except Emily that is. The only thing she was unsure of was why one minute ago she was scared Paige was going to throw another homophobic slur in her direction, and now all she wanted to do was be around her. She brought the coffee canister back out and placed it on the table in front of Spencer.

"Seriously Spencer, you've been silent for ten minutes... at least give us a summary!" Hanna stopped pacing and stared at the other girl.

"Okay okay... so far its just a bunch of stuff about some sort of kingdom. There was a king with two sons and two daughters. Then it goes on about a prophecy about the end of his rule and one of his daughters overthrowing him. I think that's where the sleeping souls bit comes in. If we believe Paige, which I'm not sure I do yet..." Emily let out an aggravated sigh. "What! One minute she's throwing around hateful comments and the next she wants to help us?! It's suspicious!"

"Spencer! Forget Paige for a second. What about the prophecy?" Hanna tapped her foot impatiently.

"Anyway... These Sleeping Souls were made to be an army in a war for the kingdom. The two daughters essentially fight to the death to decide the next heir... That's as far as I've gotten. This old book spends way too long describing the landscape." Aria let out a small giggled and took a sip of her coffee.

"So what do we do? I mean if Paige is one of these 'sleeping souls' like we are, we should work together?"

"Aria! Listen to yourself! Do you have any idea what you're saying? Twenty Four hours ago our biggest concern was what to wear to school and what the next 'A' text message was, not fighting in some weird mythological war!"

"Yeah and twenty four hours ago you couldn't bring people to their needs with a kiss!"

"Hey! You don't know that! You never kissed me!"

"Guys!" All three girls looked at Emily's direction, shocked at her angry tone of voice. "Jeez. Look, we can't deny that these powers exist. I mean..." She stood up ran to the end of her yard, waved at the group, then sprinted back in less than five seconds. "What are our options? We could tell our parents. They would freak out, send us to a doctor and we'd be poked and prodded for the rest of our lives. I suppose we could run and hide from it all, pretend that none of this has ever happened. But I have a feeling it would catch up with us sooner or later. Or we could play the game and see what happens and maybe find more answers along the way. Whatever you guys pick, I'm choosing the last option." The girls all sat in silence listening intently to Emily's speech. They had not expected her to be so direct and assertive, that was normally Spencer's job.

"She's right. I don't want to be poked and prodded by strange men in white coats or even hazmat suits. At least Paige said she would help us? Hearing all these thoughts is beginning to do my head in." She leaned back and took another sip of her coffee.

"I agree with Aria and Emily. I don't want my mom to pass out when I melt a plate or something." Hanna sat down on a nearby bench and pulled out her phone.

"So what do you say Spencer? Which option do you choose?" Emily looked at her best friend, hoping she would agree to go with them.

"Can... Can I just think about it for a little while?" She closed the book in front of her. "It's a lot to take in."

"Of course you can. How about we all go home and meet at Paige's at 9? I'll text her and tell her we're coming." All the girls nodded and stood up from the table. Emily walked over to Spencer and wrapped her arms around her best friend's neck, pulling her close.

"You're not alone Spence. We're in this together." Spencer relaxed into Emily's arm. She was right, there was comfort in not being alone throughout this ordeal. She hugged her back and they girls headed out of Emily's house while she cleaned up the coffee in a matter of seconds. This power definitely had its advantages.

Emily was beginning to grow impatient. She had texted Paige, informing her of their plans to meet at 9. But it was 8:15 and Emily was already dressed and ready to go. It had taken her quite some time to decide upon an outfit. She had changed five times and was now debating on a sixth. She stared at herself in the mirror. She knew they would be training, so comfortable clothes were a must. However, a small part of her really wanted to look nice for their 'coach'. Emily had decided on a pair of skinny jeans, comfortable running shoes, a white v-neck shirt and a yellow striped cardigan. She wondered if Paige would mind her getting there a little early.

Emily hugged her mom, telling her she was studying at Spencer's and headed to her car. When she sat in the driver's seat she remember that she could simply cut through the woods and be at Paige's house in less that a minute with her newfound power. She knew her mom would be suspicious if she took her car, so she parked it around the corner and snuck off to the woods, sprinting the whole way to Paige's house.

The sensation of practically flying through the trees excited Emily. There was a sort of freedom knowing you could go anywhere and no one could even see you. She was but a slight blur that most naked eyes would dismiss as a trick of sorts. She made it to Paige's house in under a minute, stopping short of running straight into her swimming pool. She hadn't even broken a sweat and she was shocked to find she wasn't even breathing heavily after running several miles.

"You're early." Paige was lounging on a chair next to her pool not shocked in the slightest that a beautiful woman just appeared in her backyard.

Emily walked over to the redhead and shrugged shyly. "Yeah, I was getting impatient... sorry. We don't have to start training now or anything. I'm not even sure why I left so early I just felt an urge to run..." Paige smiled at the other girl and stood up from her chair, moving towards Emily as she spoke.

"Not a problem, as long as you don't mind a little one and one training." Paige winked, having found a new confidence around the brunette. She knew her sentence had a bit of innuendo attached to it, but at this moment, seeing how beautiful Emily looked illuminated by the pool lights, Paige didn't care. She saw the blush creep up on Emily's cheeks and she knew she hadn't over stepped any boundaries.

"We need a bit more space for your training anyway." Paige took a few steps forward, until she was inches away from Emily. "Do you trust me?" Paige gazed into Emily's deep brown eyes, searching for the answer before the girl even spoke. She couldn't deny how Emily made her feel, she just felt stupid that she hadn't noticed it all along.

"Yes..." Emily smiled, her heart beating rapidly. Having Paige stand this close made her extremely nervous in an excited way. Emily had no idea what was running through Paige's mind, and she thought she saw a flash of desire pass over Paige's brown orbs. Her whole body shivered at the thought of Paige wanting her.

"Okay, then hold on." Paige slid one of her arms around Emily's waist, pulling her close. "Put your arms around me." Paige didn't have to ask twice, and Emily wrapped her arms around Paige's neck, hugging her tightly. Before she could process the fact that her entire body was pressed against Paige's or the fact that having Paige's rather strong arms around her was quite a turn on, they were airborne.

At first Emily was terrified. The thought of flying hundreds of feet in the air with no safety net was enough to give her a panic attack. Paige could sense her fear and squeezed her reassuringly.

"It's okay, relax. I've got you." Emily looked into Paige's eyes. She was in awe at the soft, yet strong protective gaze the other woman was giving her. She couldn't help but relax. She buried her head under the crook of Paige's neck and let out a contented sigh.

"Are you afraid of heights?" Paige was flying a bit slower now.

"No." Paige stopped completely hover in midair.

"Look." Emily turned away from Paige and looked at the view below her. Rosewood looked like one of those quaint little towns on a model train set.

"It's gorgeous." Paige smiled. _'Yes, you are'_ she thought as she looked at Emily instead of the view below.

"Hold on." She began to pick up speed again and Emily gripped onto Paige's shirt tightly. "Landing. Watch your feet." Paige slowly came to halt, and placed them lightly on the ground. With their arms still wrapped around each other the two women made eye contact and paused, unsure of what to do next.

"That was, wow. And I thought running was exhilarating." Paige decided to detach herself from Emily before she did something that scared her away.

"Anytime you feel like just getting away from it all for a while. Just let me know." Emily smiled knowing that she would want to take the girl up on her offer not only when she wanted to get away, but when she wanted to be close to Paige again.

"So... training." The girls giggled, both of them sensing the bit of tension that hung in the air. "You may have noticed when you came through the woods in my backyard earlier that when you're running you have a sort of heightened sense of where solid objects are. It's the same when I'm flying at high speeds. Your body moves instinctively before your eyes even see the object." Emily nodded, understanding what Paige was telling her perfectly. "What becomes slightly trickier is avoiding large moving objects. Normally, it won't matter, because the chance of a moving object being able to keep up with you is pretty slim. However, someone else with supernatural powers could pose a threat. If you were to crash into someone or something at high speeds, it could incapacitate you for quite some time, not to mention the amount of pain you'd experience. It's not enough to kill you, but trust me, you want to avoid it at all costs."

Paige could see the slightly panicked look on Emily's face and knew she had to say something positive to replace the more terrifying images she'd planted in the girl's mind. "However, I can train you to be so fast and aware, that you'll never have to worry about running into anything. It's just about training your senses. I want you to run about a mile into the woods. Then turn around and come straight back at me. Be sure to run in a straight line so you don't get lost." Emily nodded.

"And what will you do?" Paige smiled.

"Try and catch you." she smirked and Emily felt her previous concerns vanish.

"You're on McCullers." Before Paige could respond Emily had taken off. Paige's super strength allowed her to run at high speeds as well, so she wasn't expecting this to be difficult.

She listened intently, waiting to hear Emily coming, knowing that seeing her was impossible. She felt Emily before she saw or heard anything. She moved towards the feeling, knowing if she picked up enough speed, it would almost be as if she and Emily were walking, even though to a passerby they would be but small blurs of color. As she moved fast, she picked up the yellow color in Emily's sweater. The chase was on. Dhe could hear Emily laugh as she ran past her, barely out of arms reach. Paige was impressed at how well Emily was doing, even though she'd only been using this power for less than a day.

Emily felt Paige chasing her, so she darted and weaved in between the trees hoping to lose her in the dash. She glanced back once and noticed Paige was nowhere in sight. She smiled, feeling victorious. However, she couldn't celebrate for too long, because as she turned back around she ran straight into Paige. If the redhead had been an actual solid dense object, Emily would have been wracked over in pain. However, since Paige had expected Emily to run into her, Paige used Emily's force and her ability of flight to propel them into the sky. Paige quickly wrapped her arms around Emily's waist and held on tight, while the brunette got over the shock of the impact. Paige slowed their motion to a slow drift and the glided over the forrest canopy.

Now that they initial shock had worn off, both women realized they were pressed against each other rather tightly, their faces inches apart. Just as time had felt like it was flying by, it now slowed to a crawl as the two women looked at each other, both afraid to break the silences. As their eyes were locked, Paige began to float them back to the ground. Paige caught Emily look down at her lips and back up again. 'Did she want to kiss me?' The thought of Emily's lips on hers sent a shiver down her spine. Both women began to lean in closing the distance between them. Their lips were inches apart when paige her a voice coming from the woods below. Both women looked to see Aria wandering the forest floor. Emily looked back up at Paige, confused.

"How did she get here? She couldn't have followed us." Emily noted. Paige tightened her grip protectively on Emily.

"I don't think that's Aria..." Emily pulled back slightly, remaining in Paige's embrace.

"What do you mean?"

"You remember one of the Sleeping Souls was called the Changeling. I think that sleeping soul is Mona, and I think she's not playing for our team if you catch my drift?" Emily smiled at the double meaning of that statement.

"Wait, do you and I... play for the same team?" Paige looked at Emily and smiled.

"I'll play on whatever team you're on." Emily felt goosebumps spread across her entire body at Paige's statement. Both women smiled, acknowledging what they admitted through metaphors.

"So how do you know it's Mona?"

" I think Alison had her drink the potion earlier than the rest, because she was helping Ali that night in the locker room. There is no way anyone who drank that night would have enough power to change into Aria, without some training. We need to get back to the house. I'm not sure how she found us, but if she can find us all the way out here, your friends aren't safe. Hold on." Paige went from zero to light speed in an instant. They landed a little harder this time in Paige's yard, just in time to see the other girls arriving. Emily ran over to them, grateful that they were okay.

"Emily, what are you already doing here? Did you just... ride Paige?" Hanna always had a way with words and Emily couldn't help the thought that followed. '_I wish.._.'

"Emily! What did I say about dirty thoughts!" Paige walked up to the group, blushing slightly.

"Don't mind me." Paige walked up to each girl looking them in the eyes and giving them the once over.

"Okay, sorry... but we just met one of the other Sleeping Souls in the woods pretending to be you, Aria." The smaller woman looked confused.

"What do you mean pretending to be me?"

"The Changeling. He or she can change forms into anyone. However, you can always tell if you really look closely enough at their eyes and if you know what you're looking for."

"How did you know it wasn't me?"

"I tried to send you messages using my thoughts to look up and wave, but you never did. The Changeling can appear to be the other person on the outside, but they don't have the same powers and such. So if you can't get close enough to see them, you have to find other ways to identify them. We were just lucky she decided to change into you." Emily smiled at Paige's perfect idea when they had run into Mona. Paige McCullers was constantly surprising her, and she liked it.

"And to top this story off, the Changeling was Mona..." Hanna looked at Emily as if she had just run over her dog.

"What do you mean? If it was Mona then why didn't you say something to her? If she's like us then she needs to be trained too!" Emily walked up to Hanna who was having a small freak out. She placed her hands on Hanna's arms.

"Paige thinks that Alison may have gotten to her already. If she was on our side, why try and trick us into believe she was Aria. It didn't feel right Han."

"Mona would never fight us! She's my best friend!"

"It's okay Hanna..." Paige interrupted. "Spencer, how far did you get in the book?"

"About halfway." She placed the tome on a chair in front of her.

"In the book, it mentions that Alison will use her abilities of mind control to raise her army. It would not surprise me if that was how she recruited Mona. Hanna, she probably didn't have a choice." Paige was trying to reassure her.

"Mind control?! But if she can get Mona how do we stop her from doing the same to us?" Paige smiled at Spencer.

"I'm glad you asked, because that's part of your first lesson tonight. Guarding your mind."

The girls took a seat on the chairs by the pool and Paige began to explain the techniques on building a wall around your mind to protect from intruders. This was going to be a long night and hopefully one that went interrupted. Paige could only hope.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews and follows! You guys are awesome. You should let me know what you think of the story so far and the lore I'm trying to come up with! I'd love to hear your thoughts! **

**Again I don't own anything from Pretty Little Liars, but there are some outfit's I'd love to steal ;) **

_Chapter 5_

The girls collapsed onto Paige's poolside couches in exhaustion. Paige wasn't kidding around with this training. She brought the girls water from inside her house and sat down in one of the chairs.

"So where are your parents?"

"Out of town, as usual. I use to hate when they would leave all the time, but now its rather convenient." Emily chugged her water, finally feeling tired after sprinting so much.

"So what now? You've read the whole book... what do we do next?" Spencer leaned forward ready to listen to Paige intently.

"I'm assuming you got to the bit about the war between the two sisters? Well according to the book, whatever ritual Alison did to awaken your powers took a lot of energy out of her. She and whoever her sister are won't be at a hundred percent until the next blue moon. I know it sounds like it's out of some Twilight book, but it's what it says."

"Next blue moon?" Hanna clicked away at her phone. "Um, that's in 9 days..." Hanna had a look of panic in her eyes.

"Great nine days until we have to worry about Ali ruining our lives again." Aria sighed and sunk back into her chair. "Nine days is not enough time... If this book is true, Ali is thousands of years old?! How are nine people who were normal humans days ago suppose to defeat a practical goddess?" Aria began to look as panicked as Hanna.

"The story tells of another sister who is suppose to battle the evil one... what about her? Where is she?!" The answer was directed at Paige.

"She will be here, it says she will come when the souls are ready. Until then all we can do is train."

"Well I know my body won't let me train anymore tonight. I can barely lift my arms." Hanna made a pitiful attempt at moving. "I'm headed home, at least I can escape all this crazy shit in my dreams." The rest of the girls stood up and gathered their things.

"I'm going to do some more reading, maybe there is something else we need to know." Spencer grabbed the tome. "Coming Emily?"

"I'm just going to head back the way I came." She pointed towards the woods and Spencer nodded.

"Alright roadrunner. See you at school tomorrow." The other girls disappeared around the side of Paige's house.

Both women stood around in awkward silence for a moment. Emily finally speaking up.

"See you at swim practice tomorrow?" Paige smiled.

"Yeah... Um Emily. I... uh want you to have something." Paige moved forward, reaching in her pocket. She pulled out a long chair with a purple gemstone hanging from it. It looked rather old, but the gem shined brightly, as if almost giving off it's own light.

"It came with the book. There was a note to give it to someone you trusted..."

"Paige... I... wow. I don't know what to say." Emily stood shocked. Not only was the gift beautiful, but it also meant that Paige trusted her, through all this chaos Paige had chosen _her_.

"Say you'll wear it? The note made mention that whoever is in possession of this stone will never be lost." She moved closer to Emily, hoping the other girl would accept the gift.

"But shouldn't you wear it? If it has magical properties, you're the one who should handle it."

"Trust me Emily, it's for you." She stepped forward until she was inches from the other girl. She unclasped the necklace and moved her hands behind Emily's neck. Emily lifted her hair so that Paige could fasten the chain more easily. She prayed that the redhead couldn't hear how loud her heart was beating due to their proximity. After clipping the necklace on, Paige let her fingertips ghost across the skin at the back of Emily's neck. Goosebumps quickly covered Emily's body, and she wanted so badly to just press her lips against Paige's but she had no idea what that would mean. Instead, she wrapped Paige in a tight hug, reveling in how wonderful the redhead's body felt against hers.

The two women stood in yard, and for a short moment, all of the chaos that had been panicking everyone slowly slipped away. For a short amount of time, they didn't have to be something in a storybook. They were simply Emily and Paige, two teenagers realizing their feelings for one another.

Emily pulled away slowly from Paige, not completely out of the other girl's arms. She felt a small tear roll down her cheek. The weight of this whole situation topped with her exhaustion had finally broken through Emily's tough exterior. Paige kept one hand wrapped around Emily's waist while the other gently wiped away the tear. Now was not the time for their first kiss, no matter how much Paige longed to press her lips to Emily's. Instead, Paige leaned in and let her lips brush Emily's forehead lightly. Their eyes met and Paige flashed Emily a small smile.

"I promise I won't let anyone hurt you." Emily knew that Paige couldn't promise that, but it was the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to her.

"I know." Emily reached down and took Paige's hand in her squeezing it. "Goodnight Paige."

"Goodnight Emily." Emily slowly moved away from Paige, only letting go of her hand once she was too far away to reach. She took one look at Paige, smiled, and sprinted into the woods.

When Emily was out of sight Paige took off into the sky, following her from a distance, making sure she made it home safely. Paige hovered over her house, until Emily made it through the front door. Sure that Emily was safe, Paige flew back to her house to sleep and dream of the beautiful brunette.

The next morning, life went on as usual. The school had cleaned up the debris and classes resumed like nothing had happened. The girls all felt like they were on high alert, more so than with 'A'. They knew that Mona was a potential threat, but what about Toby, Ezra and Caleb. They were all in detention with the girls and hadn't heard anything about them since the accident. Aria had tried to call Ezra, but he ignored all texts and voicemails.

Emily approached Aria at her locker before lunch. "Let me guess, still no sign of Ezra?"

"Nope, nothing. Was Toby in your chemistry class?" Emily shook her head.

"I guess that just leaves Caleb... Either they didn't drink they potion and are all seriously injured, or somethings not right." Spencer came up behind the girls.

"I suppose it could also be possible that they got freaked out by their abilities and decided to take time off from school." Hanna offered as she closed her locker and joined in on the conversation.

"Have you seen Paige today?" Spencer directed the question at Emily.

"What?! Why are you asking me?" _'I wish I had seen her today..' _she thought, knowing Aria would hear her.

"Em, it's pretty obvious you like her. It's okay. Maya left you remember?" Hanna placed a reassuring hand on Emily's shoulder.

"Wow Hanna, sure you're not going to major in English in college. You have a way with words." Aria jabbed Hanna in the side with her elbow.

"Guys, it's okay, I've been over the Maya thing for a while now. It was her decision."

"I suppose it doesn't help that Paige isn't hard on the eyes." The girls looked at Spencer, slightly shocked that she just admitted another girl was attractive. "What?! she's cute."

"To answer you question, no I haven't seen her, but we have swimming together later today." Emily's mind immediately went to the thought of seeing the other girl in a swim suit. Normally it wouldn't have bothered Emily, but after last night, the thought made her blush.

"EMILY! What did I say about dirty thoughts! At least wait until I'm out of hearing distance" Aria tried to shake the images Emily had planted in her mind accidentally.

"Sorry. Anyway, maybe its better that they aren't here today. Who knows how they're handling this. I have to go to a makeup test. See you guys at Paige's around 5?" They all nodded and Emily headed down the hall, a lot more excited for swim practice than usual.

Emily entered the locker room, feeling nervous knowing she was going to see Paige again. She tried to shake the feeling and went to get changed. It was five minutes before practice and Paige still hadn't shown up. She was normally the first one here. Emily's nerves slowly turned into worry. _'What if something has happened to her?' _ She fidgeted nervously with the necklace Paige had given her.

"Five minutes ladies!" The coach exited the locker room and the other girls began shoving things in their lockers and leaving as well. Emily sighed and put her things away, hoping Coach would ignore the necklace, since she didn't want to take it off. She began to leave when a hand from behind tugged her out of the way of the door. She smiled when she saw the hand belonged to Paige.

"Miss me?" Paige flashed a confident smile at Emily.

"Maybe... What's it to you McCullers?" Paige didn't let go of Emily's hand, instead she used it to pull the girl closer. She leaned in and Emily thought for a second Paige was going to kiss her. Instead, the girl reached around Emily's neck and pulled the necklace over her head. She lifted Emily's hand and wrapped the chain around her wrist a few times.

"There. Coach is less likely to see it and you can still wear it." Paige let go of Emily's hand and smiled. "One word of advice... be very careful not to use your power in the water today. Might be a little suspicious if you set the new world record out of nowhere." Emily laughed and pushed Paige playfully in the direction of the pool.

"Come on, she'll make us do laps if we're late."

The girls decided to take one car over to Paige's, so they arrived together and walked directly into the backyard. When they made there way around the pool they saw Paige lifting massive boulders with ease. The girls almost felt as if they were intruding upon some ritual as Paige gracefully moved the rocks into a line. While Emily was ridiculously impressed at Paige's strength she was more focused on the fact that Paige was dressed in only small running shorts and a black sports bra. Emily's eyes were drawn towards Paige's ridiculously tone stomach. She felt her heart drop and suddenly realized how hot it felt outside.

"Aria, don't even say it. I... I can't help my thoughts right now." Emily pointed at the other girl and Aria just shrugged.

"Hey guys." Paige dropped the last rock in line and walked over to the girls. Emily had yet to take her eyes off of Paige's body and the redhead smiled when she noticed.

"Ready to train?" All the girls shook their heads and Emily finally looked at Paige in the face.

"Yep, ready to train." Paige smiled and winked at Emily.

"Alright so since none of you have super human strength, you will need to learn how to fight someone who does. I'm going to hurl these rocks at you and you will have only a split second to react." Aria raised her hand as if she was in a class room. Paige motioned for her to ask her question.

"Um... what am I suppose to do... read the rock's mind?" Paige laughed.

"Read the person who is throwing the rock's mind. Figure out where they are going to throw it. The other option is to hope that your friends will come to your rescue. Your power isn't really for the battle field, exactly, but it has it's uses."

"Okay... so am I suppose to kiss it like the fucking blarney stone?" Paige laughed at Spencer.

"Think about your powers. There may be some people around that can help you avoid getting squished. Oh and Hanna, remember to not panic when the rock comes at you, focus so you can control what you turn it into." Paige moved over to the first boulder and picked it up as if it was made out of foam. "Ready, its more realistic if you're a moving target... GO!"

Paige began running straight at Hanna and threw the boulder in her direction. Seconds before it hit Hanna she threw her arms out in front of her and screamed. The stone instantly turned to sand covering her in a small pile.

"Ugh... gross." She spit the sand out of her mouth and shook herself off. Paige ran to the other boulder and made a b line for Emily. The girl began sprinting, but she knew Paige could catch up with her. She watched as Paige hurled the rock, trying to anticipate its trajectory. She moved out of way perfectly and the boulder smashed into the ground next to her, leaving a huge dent in the ground.

Spencer anticipated that she was next and she grabbed Hanna by the arm, kissing her hand quickly. It made hanna slightly dizzy, and Paige smiled at Spencer's resourcefulness. She threw the boulder at Spencer and instead of turning it into sand like Hanna, she transformed it to foam. The boulder knocked her to the ground because of its size, but didn't hurt her at all.

"Nice move Spencer... However, you left Hanna rather vulnerable. We learned that your powers can last a good half hour. Next time, kiss someone before the rocks start getting thrown." Spencer rolled her eyes at Paige and let the other woman help her off the ground.

Paige ran over to the last stone and Aria knew where it was headed. Paige threw the boulder straight at her. Before Aria could even react, she was moved out of the way with lighting speed. By the time she realized what had happened she was clear across the yard and Emily was standing next to her smiling.

"Thanks."

"Not a problem. I could get use to rescuing damsels in distress." The girls walked back over to Paige and noticed that not only had Emily moved Aria out of the way, Hanna and Spencer had turned the stone into sand.

"See Aria, nothing to worry about. We will be on the front lines while you get to be all covert secret ops." Hanna threw an arm around her.

"Aww you guys are learning so quickly." Paige mocked wiping away a tear. "I'm so proud..." Before the girls could make fun of her a man appeared out of thin air behind her tackling her to the ground. Emily didn't even think twice, she sprinted towards him, colliding directly with his body, sending him flying. She was about to charge into him again when Paige jumped up and placed two hands on her shoulder.

"Emily stop. It's okay. I know him." The man appeared instantly at Paige's side, smiling. He stood very tall, well over six feet. He was wearing a purple pinstriped suit with an orange tie. His hair seemed to be a perfect match to Paige's red locks. He wore a short trimmed beard and looked not much older than 25.

"That one packs quite a punch." he rubbed his shoulders.

"Sorry, normally friendly people don't tackle women to the ground." Emily stood in an aggressive stance, ready to ponce on him at any moment.

"Um... Girls, this is Aegis. He's the one who... um... gave me the tome." Aegis looked at Paige and smiled.

"Aegis at your service" He bowed to the girls.

"Wait... the Aegis from the book?"

"Not from the books you read in history class, love. But from that big old tome you carry around? Yes that would be me. Was I exactly as handsome as you pictured me?" Paige hit Aegis in the stomach.

"So this is why you know so much?" Hanna asked, giving Aegis the once over.

"Yeah, someone had to coach me right?" Paige shifted nervously, hoping they wouldn't be too angry with her for keeping this from them.

"Why didn't you tell us? It would've been comforting to know we had a God on our side." Spencer folded her arms, slightly upset that Paige had kept this from them.

"Cheer up deary. I told her not to say anything. Besides, it won't be too comforting, since I can't fight in the battle."

"What?! Why not?" Aria scoffed.

"Rules are Rules. I get banished if I interfere with the prophecy. The only players allowed in this game are my two sisters." He threw his hands up in mock defeat. "However, nothing in the rules says I can't help out... until my sister gets here."

"Well I guess that's something. When is she suppose to come? We're sort of running short on time." Aria sat down on the steps up to Paige's back deck.

"I'm surprised she hasn't shown up yet. She's normally early for everything. But no worries, you have me!" He teleported behind them, "I promise I'm a wonderful coach. Especially with such apt pupils..." he winked at all of them.

"Aegis, enough." The tall redhead teleported next to Paige and threw an arm around her.

"Aww this is going to be so much fun!"


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry it's been a minute since I last updated. I went out of town. I will attempt to update a lot sooner! Thanks for all the reviews. Please let me know what you think of this chapter! I'm not that great at writing action scenes... but I tried! **

**Gloria - Aww I'm so happy you like it. It just kind of came to me. I always thought it'd be handy for the ladies to have powers to defeat A... ;) **

**Siretha - Thanks, I tried to make the powers match the person in a way. Thought it would be more 'realistic' that way :) **

**Em - Maybe? You'll have to read to find out. And I think Aegis is just a little trouble maker, but in a good adorable way :) **

**Indre- Once the girls train more they will find that there are many uses to having powers and that what they thought they could do initially only gets stronger with more training. **

**IIandorian- Thank you so much. I normally get scared to write AUs for fear of messing up the characters, but I just had to write this. **

**Rain'sMistress - Aww you're too sweet. I'm glad you like it (I like your story as well!). I'll try and post more often :) **

_Chapter 6 -_

Paige had been worried how the girls would react to Aegis. Yet they seemed to be taking to him rather well. She didn't like keeping secrets from them, especially from Emily, but at least he was here now and could take the weight off of her shoulders a bit. The next day went on without incident, yet the boys were still missing. No one had seen hide nor hair of any of them, and this worried Paige. The tome had mentioned that Alison, even weakened could still recruit souls other ways. The girls were meeting up with Aegis and Paige to train that afternoon. The God had said the girls were in for a treat, and Paige was slightly nervous about what he could've been referring to.

Paige stared out her window, watching the rain beat against the glass. Training was going to prove a bit more difficult unless Aegis had a backup plan for this rainy day.

"Ah love, why so melancholy?" The redhead jumped at the sound of his booming voice behind her.

"Well training in the rain probably isn't going to be the girls idea of fun." Aegis smiled at her, and playfully nudged her with his elbow. "No worries, I have today's training covered." Paige looked at Aegis suspiciously.

"Why are you helping us? Why not take her side?" The question was simple; yet Paige wasn't really sure she wanted to hear his answer. She supposed she shouldn't question the help, but she was too curious for her own good. Before Aegis could answer Paige's doorbell rang. Her heart began to speed up, excited that Emily was probably behind that door. She rushed over and opened it to see 4 girls huddled under two umbrellas. She stepped aside so they could get in out of the rain. Emily paused in front of Paige and smiled. Paige couldn't help but think how gorgeous Emily looked completely drenched. Paige hated that the sight of Emily had such an effect on her, it made her feel powerless and excited at the same time.

"Hey..." Emily removed her coat and placed it on Paige's coat rack.

"Hey." Paige smiled at Emily and followed her into the kitchen where the rest of the group was congregating.

"I hope you don't expect us to train in that." Spencer pointed outside the large kitchen window.  
"It's practically a monsoon!" she said as she rang her hair out in the sink.

"I'd never make you train in that, love. I have other plans. Gather round ladies." The girls looked at Paige for permission. She nodded and smiled. "Alright! hold on to my arms." He held out his arms offering them to the girls. Each one touched him tentatively. "Ready?" They all nodded cautiously. "Enjoy the ride!" The group disappeared with a loud pop. Before the girls even had a chance to scream they reappeared in the middle of what looked like piles of rubble.

"What the fuck was that?" Hanna spoke first, wobbling slightly. Aegis smiled widely and bowed, removing his hat with flourish. "Impressive, I know."

"Aegis here has the ability to teleport." Paige turned towards the tall man on her right. "The real question is... where are we?" The redhead glanced at her surroundings. The buildings were in ruins, barely recognizable. Paige walked down the street they had ended up on, stepping over the broken concrete and picked up the piece of what looked like an old wooden sign. The writing was hard to make out. She used her sleeve to dust the debris off, revealing part of a word.

"Rose... wait, this is Rosewood?" Paige brought the board over to the girls and passed it around.

"Correct, Paige. Well this is Rosewood after my sister has her way with it." Paige looked confused.

"You can time travel?"

"No. This is more a projection of what could be. It's not really here." Paige walked around and picked up a stone, throwing it in Aegis direction, only missing him because he teleported at the last minute.

"Feels rather real." Paige said as the stone ricocheted against some wooden planks. Aegis bowed again.

"Why thank you. I tried."

Spencer walked up to another broken piece of wood inspecting it. "So why bring us here? We already agree to fight to protect this place, so it's not as if we need convincing." Aegis smiled and perched himself on a pile of rubble.

"You agreed because you felt you had no other choice. You picked sides by default. To win this battle you have to really want it, not just because you think it's the right thing to do. You have to realize what would happen if the other side won. It's all rather inspirational isn't it." He motioned to the world around him and let out a guttural laugh.

The girls spent the next two hours, sprinting, climbing, and trying to outsmart a God. It was apparent that the girls had been doing their homework. Their reflexes were faster, and their control of their powers was impressive, considering the short amount of time they had to get use to it all. When training ended the girls gathered around, grabbing onto Aegis as he instantly transported them back into Paige's house. The rain outside had subsided. They girls said their goodbyes and Paige walked them to the door.

The redhead waved as they began to get in Spencer's car. Paige heard a loud cracking noise and looked to the source to find Caleb sprinting towards the car, firing lighting in its direction.

"Get in the car!" Paige yelled at the girls, hoping the rubber could ground the voltage. She made a b line for Caleb, and threw a punch that connected with him, square in his jaw, sending him flying. She knew it would only momentarily incapacitate him so she screamed at Aegis. "Get the girls out of here! Don't leave their side." The God teleported to inside the car and stuck his hand out.

"Hold on tight ladies." They all grabbed his arm and he teleported instantly. What he didn't expect was for Emily to let go of his hand, with lighting speed, at the last second. She flung open the car door and watched as Paige flew towards the direction Caleb was thrown. She sprinted after the other woman catching up to her just as she Paige grabbed Caleb's limp body and flew into the air. Emily's intention had been to help Paige, but she was powerless when Paige's feet left the ground.

In the air, Paige shook the unconscious body, attempting to wake him.

"Caleb! Wake up!" The boy shook and stirred opening his eyes slightly. He looked around at his surroundings before his eyes glazed over and he seemed poised to attack. "I wouldn't try anything. If you shock me, I drop you. And I'm pretty sure I'm the only one that can fly." He seemed to understand what Paige was trying to say. She didn't wait for him to speak. "Did she send you?" Instead of responding he just flashed her a devilish grin. "Did she really think you could defeat all of us by yourself?"

"I'm not alone…" Paige stared at him and tightened her grip on his shoulders, causing him to cry out in pain. Paige flew away as fast as she could, carrying Caleb 100 miles away from Rosewood.

"I won't kill you… this time, because I know the real Caleb is still in there, but try and hurt them again and I won't be so merciful." She slowly came back to the ground. "And if you try and shock me, I won't think twice before crushing your skull. Understood?" He nodded, still with a sick smile spread across his lips. She let go of him and he sprinted off into the woods. Paige took off and began heading back to her house. Aegis would know when it was safe to bring the girls back. For now, Paige just had to wait.

As she got closer to home, her body became wracked with intense pain, as if someone was literally crushing it. 'Emily….' Paige ignored the pain, knowing that it wasn't actually happening to her. She felt the woman crying out for her. Her body knew exactly where to go and she let it lead her back to the woods where she had found Caleb's body. The minute she landed she looked everywhere, the pain becoming almost unbearable. She frantically looked around and caught a flash out of the corner of her eye. She sprinted towards the movement and saw the back of a man, pushing Emily against a tree.

"Emily!" Paige called out causing the mysterious man to turn around. "Toby…." Paige instantly rushed towards the man, planning on hitting him much harder than Caleb. When she collided with him, however, she wasn't able to send him flying as she had intended. He hit her with equal force, both people pushing against each other for dominance.

"You don't have to do this Toby…." Paige gritted her teeth, using most of her force to keep him from pinning her against a nearby tree. Paige looked over at Emily's body lying motionless on the ground. That split second of distraction was all Toby needed to get the upper hand and his hand collided hard into her stomach, sending Paige flying. He began to make his way back over to Emily, when Paige came flying back towards him, spearing him through three entire tree trunks. She picked up his body before he could react and flew up above the forest canopy. Toby, confused to be leaving the ground, didn't react fast enough before Paige sent him flying through the sky, not caring if the landing killed him.

The minute Toby's body left her hands she flew down to where Emily's limp body lay on the forest floor. She knew if Toby survived the fall, that he would be back in no time. His super strength gave him the ability to move a lot faster than Caleb. The only safe place was in the air. The redhead bent down, slowly easing her arms under Emily's body, one supporting her head, the other tucked up behind her knees. Her feet lifted off the ground and in seconds they were high above the tree line. Emily was breathing, but Paige could tell her body was crushed from the force Toby had applied. "Its going to be okay, Emily. I have you now. You just have to hold on…." A single tear rolled down Paige's cheek. If she died, there would be hell to pay, Paige would make sure of that. She leaned down and pressed a light kiss the Emily's forehead. "I need help!" she yelled, hoping Aegis would hear her. He instantly appeared at her side, hovering in midair

"She needs help. A hospital here won't do." Paige passed the God, Emily's limp body. "Take her to Asclepius. Father cannot know, Hermes." Her brother smiled and touched her face lovingly.

"I'll take care of her Athena. You have my word." He was gone before she could even thank him.


End file.
